Dave in Green Posted February 28, 2013 Report Posted February 28, 2013 I thought it was about time to give Jake Kretzer his very own thread after ESPN named the precocious true freshman its Bench Player of the Night: Bench Player of the Night – Jake Kretzer, Akron Akron won its 19th straight game and improved to 13-0 in the MAC, as the Zips approach the first unbeaten MAC season in 54 years. Kretzer went 6-for-6 the field, including five threes, on his way to a career-high 19 points in the win over Ohio. He’s the first MAC player in at least 15 years to go 5-for-5 from three-point range off the bench. Quote
Zipmeister Posted February 28, 2013 Report Posted February 28, 2013 I was disappointed that he had no steals or blocked shots against OU. Quote
Zip_ME87 Posted February 28, 2013 Report Posted February 28, 2013 I thought it was about time to give Jake Kretzer his very own thread after ESPN named the precocious true freshman its Bench Player of the Night: Bench Player of the Night – Jake Kretzer, Akron Akron won its 19th straight game and improved to 13-0 in the MAC, as the Zips approach the first unbeaten MAC season in 54 years. Kretzer went 6-for-6 the field, including five threes, on his way to a career-high 19 points in the win over Ohio. He’s the first MAC player in at least 15 years to go 5-for-5 from three-point range off the bench. Kudos to Jake who was awesome last night. I hope he had lots of friends/family from Waverly in attendance, given the proximity. If I remember correctly, he also had an outstanding performance in the OT vs Middle Tennessee that was a key to victory. Quote
Blue & Gold Posted February 28, 2013 Report Posted February 28, 2013 I was sitting behind the Zips' basket (2nd half) & there were quite a few people sitting around me wearing "Kretzer #15" t-shirts. I spoke briefly w/ 3 girls sitting in front of me & they said half the town of Waverly was at the game. I loved my seats (better than any seats I've had at the JAR). With such a great view of the action, it was easy to see that JK was supremely comfortable last night, took his time & planted his feet, squared up & just had textbook after textbook stroke. Being a muscular 6'8" (true freshman), this guy's going to have a nice career. Quote
zippy5 Posted February 28, 2013 Report Posted February 28, 2013 This guy deserves his own thread. Hit some big threes late in multiple games this year. Captain clutch? Quote
ksu sucks Posted February 28, 2013 Report Posted February 28, 2013 Don't look now, but someone on the OU forums has already suggested that Kretzer would have "preferred" OU had they offered. Good grief. I guess jealousy really is the sincerest form of flattery. Quote
Blue & Gold Posted February 28, 2013 Report Posted February 28, 2013 Don't look now, but someone on the OU forums has already suggested that Kretzer would have "preferred" OU had they offered. Good grief. I guess jealousy really is the sincerest form of flattery. We no longer lose any recruiting wars in the MAC. KD (with a little help from someone w/ the initials LJ, *cough, *cough) has elevated recruiting to the point where, versus other MAC schools, we get who we want. Quote
zen Posted February 28, 2013 Report Posted February 28, 2013 We no longer lose any recruiting wars in the MAC. KD (with a little help from someone w/ the initials LJ, *cough, *cough) has elevated recruiting to the point where, versus other MAC schools, we get who we want. That doesn't mean that everyone recruited by only MAC schools pick Akron. Some guys want to stay close to home. Maybe Kretzer would have gone to OU if they had offered, and maybe he had a point to make last night. Maybe not. Akron is having a great year, and certain connections to certain NBA players may appeal to some recruits, but Akron is not yet the Gonzaga of the east. That's just my view. Quote
jupitertoo Posted February 28, 2013 Report Posted February 28, 2013 That doesn't mean that everyone recruited by only MAC schools pick Akron. Some guys want to stay close to home. Maybe Kretzer would have gone to OU if they had offered, and maybe he had a point to make last night. Maybe not. Akron is having a great year, and certain connections to certain NBA players may appeal to some recruits, but Akron is not yet the Gonzaga of the east. That's just my view. Kretzer was interested in Ohio but they didn't have any scholies available. That changed after Groce left and Ohio lost Caris Lavert, now a freshman starting for U of Michigan. Christian had a very solid first recruiting class and there are a couple of talented transfers sitting out now. Whether Ohio will be back big-time next year is uncertain, but they're not going away. The school is investing big bucks in the program, including a planned $18 million "refresh" of the Convo. In any case, Kretzer has an awesome night and would look awfully good in green-and-white. Sigh... Quote
LZIp Posted February 28, 2013 Report Posted February 28, 2013 Kretzer was interested in Ohio but they didn't have any scholies available. That changed after Groce left and Ohio lost Caris Lavert, now a freshman starting for U of Michigan. Christian had a very solid first recruiting class and there are a couple of talented transfers sitting out now. Whether Ohio will be back big-time next year is uncertain, but they're not going away. The school is investing big bucks in the program, including a planned $18 million "refresh" of the Convo. In any case, Kretzer has an awesome night and would look awfully good in green-and-white. Sigh... Lavert played 12 minutes last night for scUM. He did not start. From looking at his game logs, its looks like he only started one game this year, against CMU. Quote
Blue & Gold Posted February 28, 2013 Report Posted February 28, 2013 Lavert played 12 minutes last night for scUM. He did not start. From looking at his game logs, its looks like he only started one game this year, against CMU. I heard an announcer say this, so TIFWIW, but I guess UM wanted to redshirt Lavert, but he was playing "so good" [sic] in practice that they felt like they had to play him. He played really well in last year's state tourney & I was excited to see him play in the MAC. I was disappointed when I didn't see him on OU's roster at the beginning of the year. Quote
OZoner Posted February 28, 2013 Report Posted February 28, 2013 Don't look now, but someone on the OU forums has already suggested that Kretzer would have "preferred" OU had they offered. You're twisting words. What he (a journalist) actually said: "He didn't say it, but I kind of got the sense he would have preferred OU, but it wasn't really an option for either him or the team. And he did say he was happy how it worked out and that he ended up at Akron." "Kind of got the sense" is hardly a declaration. Quote
ksu sucks Posted February 28, 2013 Report Posted February 28, 2013 "Kind of got the sense" is hardly a declaration. Correct. I used the word "suggested". It's silly to even suggest such a thing after listening to a short question and answer. It seemed like a stretch. Quote
johnnyzip84 Posted February 28, 2013 Report Posted February 28, 2013 Another poster on bobcatattack, identifying himself as Jake's former AAU coach, states that Jake and his father really wanted Jake to play at OU (but, as explained earlier, no scholly was available). I say "who cares?".......we have him and he looks to be having no second thoughts. That's the nature of recruiting. KD mentioned it in the post-game, but it's worth repeating. Besides not missing a shot, Jake played his usual solid defense. Several times he denied Cooper the inbounds, and as my hoops-savvy son pointed out the one time Kellogg ended up with the ball instead he dribbled it off his chest and out of bounds. That turnover was a killer, and Jake started it. Quote
ksu sucks Posted March 1, 2013 Report Posted March 1, 2013 I say "who cares?".......we have him and he looks to be having no second thoughts. That's the nature of recruiting. +1 Their loss, our gain. Kretzer is going to win a lot of games for us over the next few years. Quote
Dave in Green Posted March 1, 2013 Author Report Posted March 1, 2013 Jake obviously has a strong hometown following. If it was his dream to play for a quality team close to home, it's easy to understand how OU could have been his first choice. That's the way it works. The Zips lost C.J. McCollum because they didn't have a free scholarship. One might question how much OU really wanted Jake, and whether they could have worked something out to get him if they really wanted him. D-I schools weren't exactly breaking down the door to recruit Jake. In all the research everyone on ZN.o did to find out more about Jake while he was in HS, there was nothing to indicate he could have this much impact so quickly as an all-around player. Most everyone here was speculating that he was the most likely freshman to redshirt. Kudos to the Zips coaching staff for seeing something special in him. Quote
Quickzips Posted March 1, 2013 Report Posted March 1, 2013 I'll man up and admit I was wrong. Going into the season I didn't exactly have high expectations for Jake. Frankly, I thought there was a pretty good chance he would redshirt and might never see much action for us. Boy was I wrong. You can just tell he is a KD kind of guy. Tough, not afraid to mix it up and can step out and hit the 3 ball. While the present is pretty darn good, the future is definitely bright as well. Quote
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